Social implications of bridging the gap through ‘caring for country’ in remote Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory, Australia

Article

<< Previous

Next >>

Contents Vol 34(1)

doi:10.1071/RJ11037

Rangeland Ecology & Management

	Search




	Advanced Search



	Journal Home

	About the Journal

	Editorial Structure

	Contacts



	Content

	Online Early

	Current Issue

	Just Accepted

	All Issues

	Special Issues

	Research Fronts

	Sample Issue



	For Authors

	General Information

	Notice to Contributors

	Submit Article

	Open Access



	For Referees

	General Information

	Review Article

	Annual Referee Index

	Referee Guidelines



	For Subscribers

	Subscription Prices

	Customer Service

	Print Publication Dates

e-Alerts

Subscribe to our Email Alert or

feeds for the latest journal papers.

Now Online

Social implications of bridging the gap through ‘caring for country’ in remote Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory, Australia

Julian Gorman ^A ^B ^D and Sivaram Vemuri ^C

^A Research Fellow, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia.
^B Wildlife Enterprise Development Facilitator, Caring for Country Unit, Northern Land Council, NT 0810, Australia.
^C School of Law and Business, Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts, Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia.
^D Corresponding author. Email: julian.gorman@cdu.edu.au

The Rangeland Journal 34(1) 63-73 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/RJ11037
Submitted: 16 June 2011 Accepted: 29 September 2011 Published: 30 January 2012





	PDF (1.4 MB) $25



	Export Citation

Print

Abstract

‘Caring for country’ is a term used to describe the complex spiritual affiliation that encompasses the rights and responsibilities that Aboriginal Australians have with their land. It includes their custodial responsibilities for keeping the land healthy and its species abundant. This ontology and associated practice of ‘caring for country’ continues across large sections of the Northern Territory of Australia through customary practice and through the Indigenous Ranger Program. This Program has been described as a ‘two toolbox approach’, which combines traditional ecological knowledge with more conventional land management practice, to manage landscapes for their natural and cultural values. Since 2007 there have been several policy initiatives which have changed the dynamics in Aboriginal communities which in turn has affected the structure of the Indigenous Ranger Program. In response to the dire social conditions facing Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, the Commonwealth Government initiated the Northern Territory Emergency Response, which was a ‘top down’ approach with very little community engagement. At around the same time there was a shift in the way Indigenous Rangers jobs were funded. The unintended impact of this was a reduction in the number of Aboriginal people connected to the Ranger Program and potentially less input from culturally appropriate decision makers for land management. Another influencing policy change involved a shift in Commonwealth funding for land management from Natural Heritage Trust to Caring For Our Country funding. This new funding is more targeted and has changed the nature of the Ranger Program to being less ‘program based’ and more ‘outcome based’ by packaging many land management activities as ‘Fee for Service’ contracts. The transformation is taking place in a prescriptive manner. In this paper we advocate a more community-based approach which allows for greater community involvement in planning, decision making and governance.

Additional keywords: Aboriginal, culture, environmental services, livelihoods.

References

ALRA (1976). Commonwealth Consolidated Acts. Available at: www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/alrta1976444/ (accessed 12 January 2012).

Altman, J. C. (2003). ‘Developing an Indigenous Arts Strategy for the Northern Territory: Issues Paper for Consultations.’ Working Paper 23. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Altman, J. C. (2004). Economic development and Indigenous Australia: contestations over property, institutions and ideology. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 48, 513–534.
| CrossRef |

Altman, J. C. (2007). ‘The Howard Government’s Northern Territory Intervention: Are Neo-paternalism and Indigenous Development Compatible?’ Topical Issue No. 16/2007. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Altman, J. C., and Daly, A. (1992). ‘The CDEP Scheme: A Census-based Analysis of the Labour Market Status of Participants in 1986.’ Discussion Paper 36. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Altman, J. C., and Taylor, L. (1989). ‘The Economic Viability of Aboriginal Outstations and Homelands: A Report to the Australian Council for Employment and Training.’ (Australian National University: Canberra.)

Altman, J. C., and Whitehead, P. J. (2003). ‘Caring for Country and Sustainable Indigenous Development: Opportunities, Constraints and Innovation.’ Technical Report No. 20. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

ANAO (1997). ‘Commonwealth Natural Resource Management and Environment Programs.’ Audit Report No. 36 1996–97. (The Australian National Audit Office: Canberra.)

ANAO (2008). ‘Regional Delivery Model for the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.’ Audit Report No. 21 2007–8. (The Australian National Audit Office: Canberra.)

Aslin, H., and Bennett, D. H. (2005). Two tool boxes for wildlife management? Human Dimensions of Wildlife 10, 95–107.
| CrossRef |

Australian Government (2010a). Indigenous Australians Caring for Country. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Available at: www.environment.gov.au/indigenous/index.html (accessed: 7 February 2011).

Australian Government (2010b). Caring for Our Country. Available at: www.nrm.gov.au/index.html (accessed 7 February 2011).

Australian Government (2011a). Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA). Available at: www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/progserv/land/Pages/aboriginals_benefit_account.aspx (accessed 7 February 2011).

Australian Government (2011b). The Review of Caring for Our Country Australia’s Natural Resource Management Investment Initiative Discussion Paper. Available at: www.nrm.gov.au/review/review-submission.html (accessed 7 February 2011).

Australian Government (2011c). ‘Northern Territory Emergency Response.’ Available at: www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/indigenous/progserv/ntresponse/Pages/default.aspx (accessed 26 August 2011).

Bradley, J. (1999). Wirriyarra Awara: Yanyuwa Land and Sea Scapes. The South Atlantic Quarterly 98, 801–816.

Burgess, C., Johnston, F., Bowman, D., and Whitehead, P. (2005). Healthy Country: Healthy People? Exploring the health benefits of Indigenous natural resource management. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 29, 117–122.
| CrossRef | CAS |

Christie, M. (2007). Knowledge management and natural resource management. In: ‘Investing in Indigenous Natural Resource Management’. Chapter 14. (Eds M. Luckert, B. Campbell, J. Gorman and S. Garnett.) pp. 86–90. (Charles Darwin University Press: Darwin.)

Cochrane, M. J. (2005). ‘The Djelk Ranger Program: An Outsider’s Perspective.’ Working Paper No. 27/2005. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Collins, B. (2000). ‘Kakadu Region Social Impact Study Community Report.’ Report on Initiatives from the Kakadu Region Community and Government, on the implementation of the Kakadu Region Social Impact Study, 1998–2000. (Parks Australia North: Darwin.)

Commonwealth Consolidated Acts (2011). Native Title Act 1993. Available at: www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/ (accessed 26 August 2011).

Dale, A. (1996). Community-based planning in establishing wildlife projects. In: ‘Sustainable Use of Wildlife by Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders’. (Eds M. Bomford and J. Caughley.) pp. 110–125. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)

Fordham, A., Fogarty, B., and Fordham, D. (2010). ‘The Viability of Wildlife Enterprises in Remote Indigenous Communities of Australia: A Case Study.’ Working Paper 63. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Gorman, J., and Vemuri, S. (2010). Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a model for Integrated Natural Cultural Resource Management (INCRM). The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability 6, 11–21.

Hajkowicz, S. (2009). The evolution of Australia’s natural resource management programs: towards improved targeting and evaluation of investment. Land Use Policy 26, 471–478.
| CrossRef |

Hill, R., Harding, E. K., Edwards, D., O’Dempsey, J., Hill, D., Martin, A., and McIntyre-Tamwoy, S. (2008). ‘A cultural and conservation economy for northern Australia.’ Final Report. (Land and Water Australia: Canberra.)

Hunt, J., and Smith, D. E. (2007). ‘Ten key messages from the preliminary findings of the Indigenous Community Governance Project, 2005.’ Tropical Issue No. 17/2008. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Jones, R. (1969). Firestick farming. Australian Natural History Series 16, 224–228.

Kellert, S. R., Mehta, J. N., Ebbin, S. A., and Lichtenfeld, L. L. (2000). Community natural resource management: promise, rhetoric, and reality. Society & Natural Resources 13, 705–715.
| CrossRef |

Koenig, J., Altman, J. C., Griffiths, A. D., and Kohen, A. (2006). 20 years of Aboriginal woodcarving in Arnhem land, Australia: using art sales records to examine the dynamics of sculpture production. Forest Trees and Livelihoods 17, 43–60.

Lane, M. B. (2002). Buying back and caring for country: institutional arrangements and possibilities for indigenous lands management in Australia. Society & Natural Resources 14, 657–671.
| CrossRef |

Lane, M. B. (2006). The role of planning in achieving indigenous land justice and community goals. Land Use Policy 23, 385–394.
| CrossRef |

Lane, M., and Williams, L. (2009). The Natural Heritage Trust and Indigenous Lands: the trials and tribulations of ‘new technologies of governance’. The Australian Geographer 40, 85–107.
| CrossRef |

Luckert, M., Campbell, B., Gorman, J., and Garnett, S. (2007). ‘Investing in Indigenous Natural Resource Management.’ (Charles Darwin University Press: Darwin.)

Moncrief, L. (1970). The cultural basis for our environmental crisis: Judeo-Christina tradition is only one of the many cultural factors contributing to the environmental crisis. Science 170, 508–512.
| CrossRef | CAS |

Muir, C., Rose, D., and Sullivan, P. (2010). From the other side of the knowledge frontier: Indigenous knowledge, social–ecological relationships and new perspectives. The Rangeland Journal 32, 259–265.
| CrossRef |

Muller, S. (2008). Indigenous Payment for Environmental Service (PES) opportunities in the Northern Territory: negotiating with customs. The Australian Geographer 39, 149–170.
| CrossRef |

Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act (1997). Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act. Available at: www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nhtoaa1997371/ (accessed 26 August 2011).

Northern Land Council (NLC) (2006). ‘Celebrating Ten Years of Caring for Country, a Northern Land Council Initiative.’ (Northern Land Council: Darwin.)

Northern Territory Government (2009). ‘Working Futures.’ Available at: www.workingfuture.nt.gov.au/ (accessed 7 February 2011.)

Pearson, D. M., and Gorman, J. (2010a). Exploring the relevance of a landscape ecological paradigm for sustainable landscapes and livelihoods: a case study from the Northern Territory Australia. Landscape Ecology 25, 1169–1183.
| CrossRef |

Pearson, D., and Gorman, J. T. (2010b). Managing landscapes in Australian Northern Territory for sustainability: visions, issues and solutions. Futures 42, 711–722.
| CrossRef |

Perry, R. (1996). A long view. In: ‘From Time Immemorial: Indigenous Peoples and State Systems’. (Ed. R. Perry.) pp. 3–24. (University of Texas: Austin.)

Putnis, A., Josif, P., and Woodward, E. (2007). ‘Healthy Country, Healthy People: Supporting Indigenous Engagement in the Sustainable Management of Northern Territory Land and Seas: A Strategic Framework.’ (CSIRO: Darwin.)

Rea, N., and Messner, J. (2008). Constructing Aboriginal NRM livelihoods: Anmatyerr employment in water management. The Rangeland Journal 30, 85–93.
| CrossRef |

Russell-Smith, J., Murphy, B., Meyer, C., Cook, G., Maier, S., Edwards, A., Schatz, J., and Brocklehurst, P. (2009). Improving estimates of savanna burning emissions for greenhouse accounting in northern Australia: limitations, challenges, applications. International Journal of Wildland Fire 18, 1–18.
| CrossRef | CAS |

Sithole, B., Whitehead, P., and Kerins, S. (2007). Background: issues and the policy environment. In: ‘Investing in Indigenous Natural Resource Management. Chapter 2’. (Eds M. Luckert, B. Campbell, J. Gorman, S. Garnett.) pp. 4–10. (Charles Darwin University Press: Darwin.)

Smyth, D. M., Szabo, S., and George, M. (2004). ‘Case Studies in Indigenous Engagement in Natural Resource Management in Australia, the Australian Government.’ (Department of Environment and Heritage: Canberra.)

SRRATRC (1998). ‘Commercial Utilisation of Australian Native Wildlife.’ (Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee: Canberra.)

Taylor, J. (2004). ‘Social indicators for aboriginal governance: insights from the Thamarrurr Region, Northern Territory.’ Research Monologue 24. (Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University: Canberra.)

Wunder, S. (2005). ‘Payments for environmental services: some nuts and bolts.’ Occasional Paper No. 42. (Centre for International Forestry Research: Jakarta.) Available at: www.cifor.cgiar.org (accessed 26 August 2011).

Subscriber Login

	Username: Password:

Top

Email this page

Legal & Privacy | Contact Us | Help